


Late Bloomers

by afterandalasia



Category: Toy Story (Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Coming Out, Community: disney_kink, F/F, Femslash, Fluff, Fluid Sexuality, Friendship/Love, Human, Post-Canon, Second Chances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-18
Updated: 2011-04-18
Packaged: 2018-01-26 00:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1667444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afterandalasia/pseuds/afterandalasia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life doesn't always work out the way that you plan. But sometimes you get a second chance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Late Bloomers

**Author's Note:**

> From the [prompt](http://disney-kink.livejournal.com/4400.html?thread=2467120#t2467120) at Disney Kink. In full:
> 
>  
> 
> _IN HONOR OF THE OSCARS: MRS. DAVIS IS A LESBIAN_
> 
>  
> 
> I probably went a bit more serious than the prompt intended, but it was still fun to write.

There are more important things, Jennifer Davis always tells herself, than having a man about the house. Of course, it isn't exactly that great being a widowed single Mom, and she misses Andy and Molly's father, her childhood sweetheart, quite terribly. They were married fresh out of high school, she found herself pregnant before she even got to college, and -- as they say -- the rest is history.  
  
Or at least it should have been. Because your sweet, young, slightly naive husband wasn't supposed to go and become a policeman, and he certainly wasn't supposed to be killed in a botched armed robbery when you had a four-year-old son and another baby on the way.  
  
But there you were. Sometimes life didn't work out. So she downsizes to the smaller house and puts all her efforts into raising Andy and Molly, and on Andy's fifth birthday she gives him his father's Sheriff Woody doll, which quickly becomes his absolute favourite and accompanies him everywhere, especially to play school, and only just manages to escape going swimming with him as well. It's almost the turn of the century, after all, she keeps telling herself, and as long as she's there for her kids and strong for them, it doesn't matter that it's just her. And it works. She tells them the stories about their father and what a good man he was, and shows them the pictures, and she's quite capable of doing DIY and playing soccer with Andy as _well_ as cooking and cleaning and playing dress-up with Molly, because Moms do what their kids need them to do.  
  
And it's so busy, with two kids and a job, that for the longest time she doesn't even feel lonely. Misses Andy's father, yes, but that's different from being lonely, because that's just one person that you're thinking of rather than wanting someone else around the house.  
  
It isn't really until Andy leaves for college that she starts feeling the emptiness of the house. Molly moves into Andy's room, and as her teenaged years near she doesn't think that she needs her Mom so much anymore (though Jennifer, being a Mom, knows far better than that and keeps a discrete eye on her daughter all the same, because she's just coming up to that age when boys start causing their heartache) and suddenly Jennifer has time to herself.  
  
She doesn't, of course, have all that much experience of dating. But she's still not yet hit forty, and she's not yet found any grey hairs (well, apart from that _one_ , but that doesn't count), and she knows how to work a computer so she signs up to one of these online dating match things and tries meeting for coffee with a couple of the guys in her area.  
  
The first one talks non-stop about his work and how he regrets waiting so long to start looking for work but hey, you wanna know how awesome his work is? He thinks the date went amazingly, but she has to find some way to nicely turn him down.  
  
The second one is sweet, he really is, but he reminds her way too much of Andy and she just wants to mother him. They end up great friends, and she nurses him through a rough relationship that follows, but it's pretty clear that they're never going to be anything more.  
  
The third one turns out to be seventeen years old. The less said about that the better.

And when the discussion gets off-topic at the fitness classes she goes to on Mondays and Thursdays -- as it quite often does, because sitting in a circle and doing the stretches is actually a fantastic time to gossip -- the other women (and one man whom they all love so dearly they can't bear to send him away, and beside he dates one of the fitness instructors here) sigh and add their complaints if they're single, or just nod and say that they remember those days if they're taken. And then someone makes a crack about having been faithful to her lover for twenty years and not regretting a bit of it, someone asks his name, and the answer of 'Rabbit. Rampant Rabbit.' has them all in tucks until the teacher manages to get them to calm down again and get to doing the sit-ups they're supposed to, which don't leave you with enough breath to talk anyway.  
  
She's just about to get into her car after the class when she hears someone call her name, and turns to face them.  
  
"Oh, hey Sam," she says with a smile. Samantha hates her full name, she made that clear very early on, but despite her outspoken attitude they've gotten on quite well.  
  
"You want to meet up for coffee tomorrow?"  
  
Jennifer smiles. "I can't, I'm afraid. I've got Molly's parent-teacher evening. I could do Saturday morning, though, if that's good."  
  
Sam grins. "Perfect. That little place by yours?"  
  
"Definitely," she replies. Sam nods, gives a wave goodbye and puts in her headphones before jogging off down the road, bag slung over one shoulder. Her hair, red and in a high ponytail, bounces along in time with her steps, and Jennifer finds herself smiling after her friend for a moment longer before getting into the car and driving home, hoping that Molly hasn't gotten hungry enough to try cooking again after the disaster that was last time.  
  
Meeting up with Sam is always a relief, especially when the weeks have been busy, and they've been trying to meet once or twice a week ever since they met nearly ten years ago now. Sam is fairly private about her personal life, but loves talking about her work at the museum and the book she's writing, and is always there when Jennifer gets frustrated or upset, or when she really needs to tell someone about something that's silly and insignificant but really tickles her, like when Molly heard the name 'Sam' and thought that her mother had a new boyfriend. And they're always swapping recipes and lending each other books, and sometimes they even go off to the movies to see the latest chick flick, because going by yourself makes you look sad and Andy pulls the most amazing disgusted faces whenever the word 'rom-com' makes an appearance.  
  
This Saturday is much the same as usual, and they chat about their week and the current news, and generally meander back and forth about whatever line of conversation takes their fancy. Sam laughs when Jennifer gets a line of foam from her cappuchino all across her upper lip, and wipes it off with a napkin, and Jennifer makes a joke about not having seen that done since her kids were small. And somewhere in the middle of the conversation, Sam says that she was going to bring a copy of the finished draft of her book, but forgot, and would it be better if she dropped it off that evening? Fine, no problem, Jennifer replies, and by the time that they kiss each other on the cheek goodbye has almost forgotten about it anyway.  
  
Molly's got a friend over for a sleepover that evening, and the two are up giggling and reading magazines until late, but at least it's the weekend. Jennifer lets them be, and is enjoying winding down in the lounge when the doorbell goes and she finally remembers that Sam was going to be there. She hurries to the door, where it's just starting to rain, and gestures for Sam to come in, "Quick, before you get soaked through."

Sam laughs. "You can tell you've got kids, you know."  
  
"Tell me about it," says Jennifer with a playful roll of her eyes, as something thumps on the floorboards overhead. The random noises come with the territory too.  
  
"Here," Sam offers the book, with both hands, like she's presenting something. Her cheeks are flushed, green eyes sparkling even though the white t-shirt she's wearing is splattered with raindrops and starting to go see-through in places. "I'm sorry that I forgot it earlier."  
  
She doesn't know a thing about Classical artwork and architecture, but Jennifer finds herself determined to read the book that is slipped into her hands, Sam's fingers brushing against hers. "Thank you so much for this, Sam. How about I try to get it back to you next week. I'm pretty su--"  
  
"Keep it," replies Sam almost instantly. She holds Jennifer's gaze, expression warm and soft. It's been a long time since Jennifer has seen a look like that, a great many years indeed, and suddenly she feels something other than lonely once again.  
  
They both stand there for a moment, holding onto the book and looking at each other, perhaps slightly dumbly. Then feet thundering down the stairs make them turn, to see Molly and Tracey, hair up in bunches, grinning broadly at them.  
  
"Hey Mom, can Tracy and I get some ice cream?"  
  
"Only the small tubs," says Jennifer, but with a nod. "And use spoons this time." Her heart is pounding in her chest as the girls high-five and hurry off towards the kitchen, and she turns back to Sam again. "Sorry, um, I mean. Really, I can't accept this, Sam, it's just..."  
  
Sam silences her with a finger to the lips, and Jennifer finds herself suddenly breathless. Something about the last years, their talks and jokes and phone calls in the middle of the night when something goes wrong, starts to make a lot more sense, and it sets her all a-flutter. Then Sam strokes her hand gently with one thumb, even though she's still holding the book, and leans across to kiss her softly. It's like electricity, and makes her gasp, and she's still staring stupidly when Sam pulls away and Molly and Tracy go running back up the stairs again.  
  
"Did you not realise?" asks Sam, and she shakes her head. Sam laughs, and kisses her again, this time sweet and slow and she realises that she hasn't been kissed in eighteen years. "I didn't think I was being too subtle."  
  
She remembers unconsciously dressing up, and leaning against each other in the cinema, and Sam changing the subject any time any talk of dating came up.  
  
"I suppose I should have caught on," she says weakly.  
  
A hand strokes her cheek, gently. "Are you free tomorrow?"  
  
All that she can do this time is nod, tongue-tied, folding the book up against her stomach. She reaches up to put one hand on Sam's shoulder and give the taller woman a third kiss, this one in return for the others, a shiver running down her spine as she feels breath on her cheek and the brush of a body against her own as they lean in closer for just a moment.  
  
"I should go," Sam says quietly, and Jennifer nods. "See you tomorrow, then?"  
  
"Yes, tomorrow."  
  
Sam winks. "Well then, it's a date."  
  
And for the first time in many years, she blushes like a teenager, and waves goodbye from the doorstep as Sam dashes through the rain to her car, and finds herself wondering what she can wear tomorrow. But goddamnit, it feels good to be like this again, and she figures it's probably about time to disconnect from those dating sites. Or at least make some _serious_ changes to her profile.


End file.
